Soot and Snow
by Took-Baggins
Summary: New Year's fic They were ending a year together, but they were also starting one. ChrnoxRosette


A/N I should really be updating _Hold Me to You_, I know, but I wanted to take advantage of the holiday while it was still here. I'm not sure where all this came from, but I wanted this fic to be a little different from most of the New Year's fics already out there.

Happy new year, everyone! I hope all your resolutions work out and that the coming year is good to you all.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrno Crusade, or our favorite duo.

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Rosette sighed for the fifteenth time, watching Chrno scrub vigorously at the sanctuary floor. It was her chore, of course, but he had happily offered to help her and now found himself doing pretty much all of the work. Things usually ended up that way. She sighed again, tapping the toe of her boot heavily against the floor behind her.

Chrno's eyes rose from the hardwood to give her a tired sort of look through his bangs. "Rosette, why do you keep doing that?" she shrugged at the question, causing the demon to give a small sigh of his own. "Knock it off, or I'll make you finish this yourself."

Rosette smiled, knowing very well that it was an empty threat. She moved past him to sit in a nearby pew, pausing along the way to drop her unused rag over his head. He pulled it off without commenting and continued to clean. Neither of them spoke and for a long while the only sound was the wet slap of Chrno's rag echoing around the room. Unsurprisingly, Rosette sighed again.

"_Foo..._"

"Jeez..."

"Sorry." she let her head fall against the back of the pew, her blue eyes wandering aimlessly across the ceiling. "It's just that I always feel a little depressed around this time of year."

Chrno straightened to look at her, using the back of his hand to push his hair from his eyes. "Christmas?" he asked doubtfully, tossing his rag into the bucket. He groaned a little as the soapy water sloshed over the side and onto the floor. Rosette shook her head and let her eyes fall closed.

"No, I mean New Year's Eve." Chrno gave her a confused look.

"New Year's? Do we usually celebrate that?"

"No. At least, not here. We used to, though." by 'we' she meant herself and Joshua, before the demon had known them. He sat back and propped himself up on his arms, watching her warm smile. Her eyes opened slightly, showing that far-off look that people sometimes had when reminiscing. "Ms. Jean would always go into the city and bring back fireworks. Not a lot of them...and none of the big fancy ones...but there would be enough for everyone to have some of their own. As it got later, she would build a fire in the yard and give us long sticks to light. Once midnight came, we would use our sticks to set off our fireworks." Rosette lifted her head, her smile fading a little.

"Joshua only got to do it a few times. It was still so much fun, though..."

Chrno stared at her as she sat there picking morosely at something on her dress. He had never realized that they were skipping anything once Christmas had passed. At the Magdalan Order, New Year's was just another day. They'd always let it slide past without doing anything.

Suddenly an idea came to him, and he pushed himself to his feet. "I'll see you later, Rosette." he said, hurrying away from her. A little startled by his sudden departure, Rosette jumped to her feet to follow him, but he had already gone.

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_Taptap...taptaptap!_

Rosette moaned, burrowing her head underneath her pillow to block out the persistent tapping at her window. The sound became increasingly impatient as she ignored it, eventually switching over to a loud knocking. Growling in irritation, she threw her pillow at the glass, before sitting up to squint at the dark window. Chrno's grinning face peered in at her. She grudgingly rolled out of bed, pulling her thin gray blanket along with her to ward off the chill of the room. Stumbling a little, she made her way to the window, opening it wide. He didn't come in.

"It's about time! Do you know how long I've been sitting out here?" he asked, trying to sound irritated through his grin. He certainly looked like he'd been there for a while. It was snowing, and the big, fat flakes had settled all around him, building up nearly a half an inch in depth. A number of them had landed on his shoulders, and they clung to his violet hair in little clumps. He had to be freezing.

"What do you want?" Rosette asked, wondering vaguely why he was still sitting there. She was still a bit too sleepy to think of just pulling him in.

"Come outside." he said, his eyes twinkling at her. "I've got something for you!"

"Now?" she felt a little doubtful, what with the snow outside and the cold air seeping into her room. "What time is it?"

"Eleven forty. Hurry, okay?"

"Hey, wait a minute!" he ignored her and climbed away from her window. Softly, he dropped to the snowy ground one floor below. "Crazy idiot, waking me up in the middle of the night..." grumbling half-heartedly, she snapped the window closed and dressed in the same thing she'd worn that day. With her boots in one hand, and a cream-colored coat halfway on, she cautiously made her way through the dormitory halls.

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He met her at the door. Taking her hand, he led her across the silent grounds. Very soon, the dark building was lost to sight amid the swirling snow and night. Rosette forced her steps to match his, pressing close to Chrno's side when she had drawn even with him. He glanced at her questioningly, his face red with the cold.

"It's cold." she stated.

"Yeah..." Rosette didn't look at him, concentrating on their path ahead. It didn't make any sense that she should suddenly feel awkward touching him. The way he kept sneaking glances at her didn't exactly help, either. "Oh, here we are." she squinted, picking up the outline of the Elder's little hut.

"Chrno? What the heck!?"

"He's gone, don't worry." the little demon laughed, pulling her around to the back of the building. Rosette wasn't sure what she should have been expecting, and she couldn't help the delighted gasp that escaped her. At the back of the Elder's hut, shielded perfectly from the sight of the convent, a good size fire had been built on a little stone platform that kept it out of the snow. Next to the wall, sat a box of fireworks.

"The way that you were talking earlier...I though maybe you'd like to celebrate tonight?" it was a question, voiced softly in the hope that she would approve. Rosette laughed, pulling him into a quick hug.

"Are you kidding? This is wonderful!" she pulled away from him, bending over the box to sift through it and see what he had brought. There wasn't much, but he had found several different kinds: there were ones that exploded with a crack, ones that shot into the air, and ones that simply shot sparks from the ground. It was enough for Rosette, though, and she gathered several of the crackers and shooters into her arms. "Chrno, how much time to we have?" she asked, using her boots to clear some snow away near the fire. He pulled a little watch from his pocket and glanced at it.

"Five more minutes." he said, setting the watch on the corner of the box. "Hey, aren't you going to wait until midnight?"

"Yeah, but I can get ready now, right? It's just a few more minutes."

"Oh." silently, Chrno helped her set out the fireworks, clearing a ring of snow from all around the fire. A moment later they each held a long, burning stick. Chrno also held his watch. They stood together staring at it.

"Two minutes...I wonder, does everyone do stuff like this?" Chrno mused.

"Different people do different things. I think a lot of people go drinking or on dates."

"Rosette, is this a date holiday? Like Valentine's Day?"

"Not really. It just one of those times when people like to be with people they care about, you know? Starting a brand new year surrounded by your family and friends...it's nice."

"I see." the ring of fireworks prevented them from getting too close to the fire, so they stood huddled together, pressing against one another for warmth. Rosette's arm draped across his shoulders, and their cheeks touched as they watched the seconds tick by. "...People you care about, huh?"

"You say something, Chrno?"

"No." he pulled his head away a little to look at her. Her blonde hair hung loosely around her face, and her eyes we focused on the tiny hands of the clock. The pink of her bottom lip slowly disappeared as her teeth pulled at it in anticipation. She was right, to end a year and begin a year with someone you cared for was nice. Chrno was glad to be there, despite the cold. He hoped that, maybe, if they began this coming year with each other, then she would still be there to end it with him. He was thrilled that she seemed happy, and he wanted to keep that happiness in her as long as he was able.

"Thirty seconds." Rosette said with a smile.

"Rosette, could I..." Chrno stopped himself. This wasn't the sort of thing you asked permission for! You just did it, and hoped for the best.

"Twenty..." she added. Chrno bit his lip, bracing himself. Dropping his flaming stick into the snow, he reached to turn her face toward him. Before she had a chance to respond, he pressed his lips gently against hers, as if unsure whether she would push him away. A squeak of surprise slipped from her, but she made no move to separate from him. The fire and the snow seemed to fall away as they lost themselves for a few moments. Only when they remembered they were supposed to be breathing did they pull away from one another.

Rosette stared at him in shocked silence, and Chrno's gaze dropped to his shoes.

"What...Chrno, what are you..." she sputtered a little, apparently unable to form a thought long enough to voice it. The little demon's heart sank as he realized that he must have upset her.

"I'm sorry, Rosette, it's just that I couldn't help myself. I can't hold these things in forever, and who knows how long I'll have you...if you were to...I don't think I could live with myself if you didn't know."

"Didn't...know? Know what?" Chrno glanced up at her, surpised.

"Are you kidding? You need to ask after _that?_" she didn't answer him, but watched quietly as he huffed a little, afraid of saying it. "Rosette...after all this time, do you really think...? I...I love you! I'd hoped that you would know that by now..."

"You idiot, I can't know if you don't tell me!" he flinched as she yelled at him, her boot stomping into the snow in irritation. "Why has it taken you so long, huh?"

"I was afraid you'd act like _this! _I do everything I can for you, I haven't left your side in almost five years! Has it ever occured to you that you can _show_people things without having to _say_them? Good grief, Rosette!" he was nearly shouting at her. She fell quiet at the intensity of his tone, the hurt in it. "And now here we are." he said, his voice dropping low again. "I finally get the nerve to tell you, and all you can do is get angry with me...you could've just said that you don't feel that way. It would still hurt, but, not as much as fighting with you does." he didn't want to look at her, didn't want to leave her yet, so he just stood there, his head bowed and his eyes closed hard against the tears threatening to gather there.

"You idiot."

"..."

"Did I say that I don't love you?"

"What?" Chrno's head snapped up to see Rosette standing close to him.

"Did I say that I don't love you? Because I don't think I did. You scared the heck out of me, just kissing me out of nowhere like that...I was startled and embarassed, but I never said that I don't love you." she said. Her voice was soft, apologetic as she sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't have acted like that, especially after you did all this for me...and hey, it takes guts to kiss a girl the first time..." she trailed off, not entirely sure where she wanted to go with what she was saying. "I'm sorry, Chrno. Really, I am."

"It's okay..."

"No, it's not." her voice rose again for a moment before she could control it. "I didn't know how to react, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I don't like to hurt you."

"Look, we don't have to do this. Let's just forget about this, okay?"

Chrno yelped as she threw herself at him, her arms wrapping around him and her face buried against his neck. Hot tears spilled from her eyes, falling against his neck. He was taken aback for a moment, startled by the abrupt change in the girl. She pulled at him until he moved to put his arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Chrno! I'm so horrible...please forgive me..."

"Hey..."

"How can I act like this to you, you've done nothing but give yourself to me for years and this is all I have for you? I'm so sorry..."

"Rosette." he lifted her chin, gently pressing his lips to her cheek and kissing away her tears. It didn't do much good, they were only replaced with fresh ones. He smiled and kissed her softly on the lips. "Please don't..."

"I love you, Chrno...I wish I weren't so stupid about it..." his smile widened and he kissed her again.

"Do you really?

"Of course I do, I always have! For crying out loud, I even had a crush on you when we first met..." she laughed a little into his mouth. She had loved him for so long that it had become a regular part of her life. She didn't even think about it anymore. Loving Chrno was almost like breathing...if breathing was embarrassing and made you yell at people.

"I'm so glad to hear that...Rosette, you have _no_ idea!" he held her tightly, his face pushing into her hair. She shivered at the warmth of his breath as it touched her skin. "You and me...we're a couple of idiots, aren't we?"

"You can say that again..."

"Oh!" Chrno pulled away from her somewhat reluctantly. "With all the yelling we've forgotten our fireworks." he said. Rosette laughed, picking his stick up out of the snow and lighting the drier end.

"We'll finish fighting in the morning, how about that?" she handed it back to him and let him wind an arm around her waist. A smile crossed their faces as they lowered their sticks and lit the fuses.

They were ending a year, but they were also starting one. And they were doing it together.


End file.
